


Legend

by Inkandquills, writersstudy



Series: Inktober 2019 [15]
Category: VIXX
Genre: M/M, Robin Hood - Freeform, VIXX Ensemble - Freeform, headless horseman - Freeform, in ch 1, in ch 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-16
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-12-17 09:09:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21051875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkandquills/pseuds/Inkandquills, https://archiveofourown.org/users/writersstudy/pseuds/writersstudy
Summary: Inktober 2019, Day Fifteen!Prompt: LegendGroup: VIXXPairing: N/LeoA: The woods were never quiet at night.M: Hakyeon never expected the legends to be true.[[PLEASE NOTE THAT WE, THE AUTHORS, HAVE NOT GIVEN PERMISSION FOR THIS WORK TO BE RE-POSTED ANYWHERE EXCEPT DIRECTLY ON AO3. IF YOU SEE THIS WORK ANYWHERE ELSE, PLEASE REPORT IT FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT AND NOTIFY US AT LIVING.LENIENTLY@GMAIL.COM. THANK YOU.]]





	1. Ashlee

The woods were never quiet at night, never still. It served as a good cover for anyone who wanted to get things done. Hakyeon was one of those people. He was currently perched on a tree branch along the wagon path through Sherwood Forest, waiting for the caravan that he knew was coming. Some rich nobleman was returning home from a few months of travels and was bringing hoards of treasure with him. It was treasure that he didn’t deserve and certainly didn’t need, so Hakyeon was going to take it for the people who did.

A whistle from a nearby tree caught his attention. Jaehwan, one of his scouts, was signalling to him that the caravan was nearing. Hakyeon nodded, able to hear the rickety rumble of the wagon wheels now. He nocked an arrow and pulled the bowstring taught, aiming it where the first driver should appear at any moment. He had more scouts stationed further down the path to actually stop the front wagons, while his focus would be on the carriage that he was sure the nobleman would be riding in. 

A few moments later, the first wagon rolled into sight. Hakyeon let it pass under him, and a second one. The carriage was in the middle, so Hakyeon took aim at the driver of the wagon behind it and shot his arrow clean through the man’s skull. The wagon veered off course, ramming into a tree, and the entire caravan stopped. It was silent for a moment, then chaos. Boys and men ran in from all directions, attacking the wagons and their drivers. In no time at all, the drivers had fallen and Wonshik, Hakyeon’s sentinel, had the nobleman out of the carriage and on his knees. He finally dropped from the tree and landed on the ground in front of the man.

Hakyeon couldn’t help but look him over. The man was handsome, he couldn’t deny that. He was dressed in tight black silk and his inky black hair fell into his eyes. To Hakyeon’s surprise, rather than cowering in fear, he was smirking.

“If it isn’t the great Robin Hood,” he said, voice softer and lighter than Hakyeon was expecting. The bandit’s eyes flashed in the dark.

“And what’s it to you?” he asked haughtily. The man’s smirk widened. 

“I’ve been waiting to see what it’ll take for you to stop me,” he said, “although, I must say, I’m surprised that you would so easily murder the very men you claim to be supporting.” 

“Class traitors,” Hakyeon snarled, “and often men without families. No one misses them, and we take extra care of the ones that do.” The man tilted his head, clearly not having expected that answer. 

“Tie him up,” Hakyeon ordered, turning away, “and keep him quiet. I’m tired of listening to this.” It was an odd command, he knew. Normally, they would simply kill the noblemen and dump their bodies, but there was something about this man that Hakyeon wasn’t quite ready to abandon. Jaehwan and Wonshik dragged the man off toward a tree at the edge of the clearing. They bound his legs and arms with rope and shoved a dirty rag in his mouth, leaving him on the ground while they joined Hakyeon to sort through the contents of the wagons. They separated the items into things they could give directly to the townspeople and things they would need to sell for money instead. They discussed which things would need to go to which town and the things certain townspeople had requested. Some things weren’t in the wagons, so Hakyeon instructed Jaehwan to use the money he earned to buy them instead, things like medicine. 

“And him?” Wonshik asked, jerking his head toward the nobleman, “he’s a massive liability if he manages to get away.” Hakyeon stared at him with an unreadable expression.

“Leave him to me,” he said. Jaehwan and Wonshik nodded, corralling the others and directing them off on their missions. Soon, just Hakyeon was left in the clearing with the nobleman. 

“So, was it everything you thought it would be?” he asked tauntingly, approaching the man and crouching in front of him, “meeting the greatest thief in Nottingham?” The man glared at him, struggling to push himself into a seated position.

“It’s a pity,” Hakyeon said airily, standing up again, “you won’t live to see it again. I’m sure you realize that I can’t let you leave this clearing. Normally, I wouldn’t have even let you live this long, but you seemed so  _ eager _ to see what we do. Was it what you always dreamed of?” The nobleman didn’t even attempt to make a sound to acknowledge Hakyeon’s question. Hakyeon pulled a knife out of the inside of his boot and flicked it open. 

“Won’t it be a shame when your subjects find your body here?” he said. He knelt down to the man’s level and grabbed him by the collar to pull him closer. He drew the knife back in preparation to drive it into the man’s stomach. Just as he did this, he heard the thunder of hoofbeats coming through the woods. He looked up in a panic and shoved the man, accidentally catching his cheek with the knife. Before the man even had a chance to cry out, Hakyeon was up a tree and out of sight.

The hoofbeats thundered to a stop when they reached the clearing.

“Lord Jung!” Hands were on Taekwoon, untying him and helping him to his feet. His advisor, Hongbin, was standing in front of him, already wiping at his cheek with a rag.

“We got concerned when you didn’t arrive on time,” the younger man said, “Taekwoon hyung, what happened?”

“Robin Hood,” Taekwoon said quietly, “I got lucky.” The man’s face was swimming in his mind’s eye, taunting him.

“Let’s get home,” Hongbin said, eyes darkening, “unlike you, I have no desire to meet him.” He remounted his own horse and waited for Taekwoon to mount his mare and lead the way home. In the trees above them, Hakyeon watched carefully. He was already moving before they were, intent on following them to the lord’s home. There was no way he could let anyone live knowing his identity.

Taekwoon was exhausted by the time he arrived home. His body hurt and he was ready to just get in his bed and pass out until morning. Hongbin insisted on cleaning and treating the cut before releasing Taekwoon to stumble into his room.

He couldn’t say that he hadn’t been expecting to run into Robin Hood, he had just hoped it would be on a different trip. Some of the items in those wagons had been absolutely priceless and, while he understood the bandit’s mission, it certainly made him sore to lose them after working so hard to acquire them. 

Stripping off his shirt, Taekwoon landed in his bed with a groan. He couldn’t believe that he’d had the Robin Hood right in his grasp and he’d slipped away. Taekwoon had had an obsession with Robin Hood ever since the bandit had first appeared. It was an interesting mission, to steal from the rich and give to the poor. He’d give anything just to have a conversation with the man, but he’d lost his chance. There was no way he’d expose the man, certainly not.

WIth another groan, Taekwoon rolled over. He couldn’t shake the distinct feeling of being watched. He’d thought it was just residual adrenaline from the earlier incident, but looking up told him something very different.

There, crouched on top of the wardrobe, hiding in the shadows, was the Robin Hood. If it weren’t for the glint of moonlight through the window, Taekwoon would have never seen him. His eyes widened and he sat up, hurriedly reaching to light the oil lamp. Before he had a chance, there was a body against his, flattening him to the bed with a hand tight around his throat. Taekwoon wasn’t weak by any means, so he managed to throw the Robin Hood off and parry all of his attacks. Eventually, they ended up on two separate sides of the room at a standstill. 

Keeping one hand in the air, Taekwoon lowered the other into his pocket and brought it out with a key. He reached over and locked the bedroom door before throwing the key on the floor.

“So we won’t be disturbed,” he said softly, keeping both hands raised in surrender. The Robin Hood eyed him warily before stooping to pick up the key and slide it into his own pocket.

“You want something of me,” Robin Hood said, slowly advancing toward Taekwoon with the knife still hanging at his side. 

“You fascinate me,” Taekwoon said evenly, “your mission interests me.”

“And yet, you continue to hoard and steal,” the Robin Hood said venomously.

“People know me,” Taekwoon said, “joining your mission publicly would not only be suicide, but it would also put your entire operation in danger.” Robin Hood couldn’t seem to find fault in that argument.

“So what?” he asked, “you have a proposal or something?”

“I can be a front,” Taekwoon said, “keep stopping wagons and distributing whatever goods you find, but whenever you need things purchased, I can do it to keep your people out of the public. I’m in a position where publicly giving all my wealth to you would be considered joining your ranks and would start a manhunt, but where I can also purchase medicine and sturdy clothing and whatever you need without seeming suspicious.”

“And what do you get out of it?” Robin Hood asked, clearly not buying Taekwoon’s intentions for one minute.

“My curiosities laid to rest,” Taekwoon said, “a soothed conscience for all this wealth I’ve acquired and want no part of, but can’t get rid of on my own.” Robin Hood examined him for a few moments before lowering the knife and sticking out his hand.

“Jung Taekwoon,” he said, “welcome to the Merry Men.”


	2. Michelle

Hakyeon had heard all of the legends before but there was something different about going to investigate them for yourself. Not that he truly believed any of them but there was no harm in exploring a ghost ridden town in the middle of a cool October night. 

“I cannot believe you dragged us all the way out to the middle of nowhere for a ghost story,” Taekwoon grumbled. He had a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck and his gloved hands were shoved in his pockets. 

“Oh come on we haven’t had a date night in so long,” Hakyeon said. He slipped an arm through Taekwoon’s and guided his boyfriend down the sidewalk. Taekwoon huffed but didn’t push Hakyeon away. The fallen leaves crunched under their feet and the cool fall air nipped at their noses and ears. 

“And what exactly did you tell the kids we were going to do?” the younger man asked.

“I told them we were going to find the Headless Horseman,” Hakyeon replied. Taekwoon scoffed.

“And?” 

“And Hyukkie and Jaehwan hid in their room saying that walking around in the dark was too scary. Hongbin was completely uninterested and thought I was wasting my time. And Wonshik claimed he was too busy to come so this turned into a nice little date,” Hakyeon explained. 

“And how long do we have to walk around out here in circles before you let us go inside and make some hot chocolate?” Taekwoon asked.

“Where is your Halloween spirit?” Hakyeon asked, affronted, “we haven’t even gotten to the cemetery yet. Can’t you just enjoy spending a little time with me away from the boys? This town is so nice, at least enjoy the sites while we’re here.”

“We could spend time together where it’s warm and explore the town tomorrow when we can actually see what everything is,” Taekwoon countered. 

“Oh, come on, babe. This is all right up your alley. Look, the cemetery’s right up there. Let’s see who can find the oldest grave,” Hakyeon said. He tugged Taekwoon toward the wrought iron gate. The metal sign spelling “Sleepy Hollow Cemetery” in worn letters, lit up just enough in the moonlight to show them that they were in the right place. Hakyeon finally let go of Taekwoon’s arm once they were inside and the pair headed in different directions. He did his best to read some of the numbers engraved in the faded stone but the moonlight was only helping so much. Taekwoon, ever the wiser, pulled out his phone and was using the flashlight to help him see.

“That’s cheating!” Hakyeon called from a few rows over. Taekwoon ignored the older man in favor of continuing to read some of the graves.

“1878,” he called to Hakyeon. The older man countered with an “1865” and the search continued. They went back and forth until finally Hakyeon emerged as the victor.

“1849!” he exclaimed excitedly. He bounded over to a grumpy looking Taekwoon.

“Aw, is someone being a sore loser?” Hakyeon teased as he linked his arm with Taekwoon’s again. The younger man huffed in response. Hakyeon giggled and stood up on his tiptoes to kiss Taekwoon’s cheek. 

“Come on, there’s a lot more to this town to explore,” Hakyeon said. He pulled Taekwoon out of the cemetery and further down the street, away from the inn they were staying at. They walked in silence for a little while, just admiring how eerie the town looked in the moonlight. 

“So how exactly do you plan on finding this Headless Horseman you’re so convinced is real?” Taekwoon asked. 

“You believe in him too!” Hakyeon countered. 

“I do not. I just wanted to explore the town without the hooligans hanging off of us and ruining the peace and quiet,” Taekwoon said. It was Hakyeon’s turn to huff and pout. 

“Well Ichabod Crane was tall and lanky so maybe the horseman will mistake him for you and come after us,” he said. 

“You want to sacrifice me to a ghost?” Taekwoon asked with raised eyebrows. 

“No, no, no. I’m just using you as bait,” Hakyeon explained. 

“Even better,” Taekwoon grumbled. They walked further into town, Hakyeon suckering the younger man into taking his hand out of his pocket so their fingers could intertwine.

“You know we’ve been walking around for a couple of hours and we haven’t seen anything remotely haunted,” Taekwoon said. 

“That’s because we have gotten to his bridge,” Hakyeon said. They crossed the road and rounded the corner to reveal a rickety wooden bridge that stretched out over the river that ran along the edge of the town. 

“This is his bridge?” Taekwoon asked skeptically, “it really isn’t anything special.” 

“It’s not really his. It’s just where he’s seen the most,” Hakyeon said. They walked over to the end of the bridge and he hesitated at the edge of the cobblestone.

“What are you chickening out?” Taekwoon teased. He took a step onto the creaking wood and pulled Hakyeon along with him. His boyfriend tucked himself into his side and looked around nervously.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of out here, Hakyeonie,” Taekwoon said soothingly. No sooner were the words out of his mouth that he caught movement at the other end of the bridge. He squinted and kept walking trying to make out what exactly the vague silhouette he spotted was. It was large and mostly black so it blended in with the shadows. About halfway across the bridge, Taekwoon caught the animal’s eyes glistening and the shine of a piece of metal from the saddle on its back. He froze in place. 

“Hakyeon, what is that?” he asked nervously. 

“What? What is what? What do you see?” Hakyeon asked. 

“At the end of the bridge,” Taekwoon whispered. Hakyeon narrowed his eyes and gasped when he saw the black stallion.

“It’s him!” he cried. He turned around and tugged Taekwoon with him. Both men took off sprinting down the bridge. The thunder of hooves followed them, rapidly approaching. Taekwoon braved turning around only to catch a glimpse of the rider, who much like the man in the legend, had no head on his shoulders. He turned back around quickly and focused on not tripping. His legs and lungs screamed at him for a break but they were only halfway through the town. Suddenly something heavy slammed into the back of his shoulder. Taekwoon cried out in pain but didn’t slow down. He was too scared of what would happen if he stopped. They didn’t notice the sound of the hoofbeats gradually fade away. They were too concerned with getting back to the inn. When they got inside, they silently made their way up to their room, and that was where Taekwoon noticed the searing pain in his shoulder. He tried to get his shirt off to get changed and winced when he lifted his arm too far. 

“Let me help,” Hakyeon said, stepping over to his boyfriend. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I glanced over my shoulder to see how close he was and when I turned back around something heavy slammed into my shoulder. I think he threw something at me,” Taekwoon explained. Hakyeon finished helping his boyfriend out of his shirt and to get a good look at his back. 

“You have a huge red mark on your shoulder,” he breathed. He ran his fingers over the discolored skin but pulled them away when Taekwoon winced. He helped his boyfriend finish getting changed before getting into his own pajamas. Soon enough, they were lying together in bed, Taekwoon on his side, completely wrapped around Hakyeon. 

“I didn’t expect him to be real,” Hakyeon whispered. 

“Me either,” Taekwoon said, “but now we can tell everyone we met the legendary Headless Horseman.”

“And who’s going to believe us? The boys certainly won’t even if we show them your bruise,” Hakyeon said with a pout. 

“Well then that’s their problem,” Taekwoon said. He kissed Hakyeon’s forehead before settling down. Neither of them slept very well, visions of the black stallion and the large axe the headless rider carried swimming through their heads. The first thing Hakyeon did when was force Taekwoon to take off his shirt so he could look at his shoulder. Maybe they had just imagined the whole thing. His boyfriend begrudgingly sat up, mumbling that it was cold and this was pointless, but pulled his shirt off regardless. He gasped when he saw the red mark wasn’t gone at all, but had gotten worse.

“You have a giant bruise on your shoulder,” he said quietly, “I-I thought we had imagined everything.” Taekwoon rolled out his shoulder and slid his shirt back on. 

“Now you can tell the boys all the excitement they missed,” he said. Hakyeon hummed. He doubted any of the younger boys would believe them regardless of the bruise on Taekwoon’s shoulder but it would make for a fun story to scare them with. When they were all gathered in the living room, a little later than usual because Sanghyuk didn’t want to wake up, Hakyeon retold the story of what happened to him.

“You really got hit with something?” Wonshik asked suspiciously. 

“I have a giant bruise on my shoulder and you’re gonna have a matching one if you keep doubting me,” Taekwoon said flatly. Wonshik raised his hands and sat back on the couch.

“In the story, the Headless Horseman is just a regular guy who threw a pumpkin at what’s his name,” Jaehwan said.

“How do you know that?” Hongbin asked.

“I was looking up the story on the way here,” the older man replied with a shrug.

“Well there’s only one way to find out if that’s what happened to you,” Sanghyuk said, jumping up off the couch. The group walked through the town, admiring everything now that it was easier to see.

“I got hit right about here,” Taekwoon said, when they reached the halfway point to the bridge. The younger boys looked all around trying to find anything but they came up empty.

“I think someone who lives here dressed up and scared you guys,” Sanghyuk said, “I’ll have to remember this for next Halloween.” He glanced at Wonshik and smirked, an unspoken plan forming between them.

“There isn’t any smashed pumpkin anywhere,” Hongbin said, “I think you were hallucinating.”

“So what could have hit you?” Hakyeon asked quietly, turning towards Taekwoon. There was no way what happened last night was something a simple prankster had pulled off. He exchanged a glance with his boyfriend, the unspoken answer sitting heavily between them and sending a shudder through his body. 


End file.
